Spanish

Course Information

Welcome

Spanish is spoken by 36 million people in the United States and is the primary language for 21 countries around the world. When you study Spanish at Assumption, you become proficient in both oral and written language skills, and you also gain greater cultural understanding.

Assumption College students who study Spanish are prepared to enter graduate school, become teachers in elementary, middle or high school, or serve as interpreters, translators, social workers, and law enforcement professionals. They can also go on to rewarding career in law, business, government and nonprofit organizations or enter graduate school.

Immersion in Spanish art and culture is an important part of the Assumption College Spanish curriculum. Students minoring in Spanish are strongly encouraged to study abroad and can choose from among a number of different sites to spend a semester, a summer or even a year.

Benefits & Features of Studying Spanish at Assumption

Acquire communicative skills in Spanish and to develop an awareness and appreciation of Hispanic cultures.

Enhance your ability to function effectively in an increasingly important commercial language locally, throughout the United States, and abroad.

Develop your geographic literacy and cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world, as these are essential to being able to conduct business successfully in Spanish.

Gain a better understanding and appreciation of Spanish art and culture, from Cervantes' Don Quixote to Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez.

Learn more about important issues facing Spanish-speaking countries and populations.

Broaden your perspective through an immersion experience in Europe, Latin America, or in an area with a Latino populations within the United States

Program Overview

Minor in Spanish

A minor in Spanish is an excellent complement to a number of majors. Students minoring in Spanish take a total of six one-semester courses that provide them with a solid grounding in Spanish language and culture that they can bring with them to the career of their choice. The Spanish Minor is designed to contribute to the cultural and intellectual formation of students, as well as to prepare them for teaching on the elementary or secondary level, and for work in social services, medical fields, law, criminology, and as interpreters, translators, or representatives in business or government, or for continued work on the graduate level.

Spanish minors are expected to achieve proficiency and fluency in the spoken and written language, to become knowledgeable about Hispanic cultures, and to read with critical appreciation and enjoyment representative works of the principal authors of Spain and Latin America. The selection of courses in this minor will be made in consultation with the advisor with a view to a complete formation in the language, literature, and cultures of the Spanish speaking world. Spanish minors are strongly advised to spend a semester or an academic year in a Spanish speaking country.

Immerse Yourself

Students minoring in Spanish are strongly encouraged to study abroad for a semester, a summer or an academic year in a Spanish-speaking country. You may choose from among a number of different sites to spend a semester, a summer or even a year. Students unable to study abroad work with a departmental advisor to develop an alternate experience, such as an appropriate local internship, in which to apply their language/culture competence.

Degree Requirements

Minor in Spanish

Students minoring in Spanish must take a total of six one-semester courses (18 credits), which can include SPA 104. The program must be planned with a departmental advisor. All courses for the minor must be in Spanish.

A NOTE ON STUDY ABROAD CREDIT: The Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures accepts for credit from an approved study abroad program two courses (6 credits) per semester towards a minor. The same policies regarding the language in which the course is taught apply for courses abroad. Students must have courses approved by the chair of Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures. Any exceptions to this policy will be reviewed and decided by the chair, in consultation with departmental faculty as the chair deems appropriate.

All courses, whether lower-division or upper-division, are conducted largely or entirely in Spanish, unless otherwise specified.

SPA 101 SPANISH I This beginning course offers students the opportunity to acquire communicative skills in Spanish and to develop an awareness and appreciation of Hispanic cultures. The course provides an integrated approach in which listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed. Basic thematic vocabulary and grammatical structures are covered. This course is intended for students with no prior coursework in Spanish. Prerequisites: None
Staff/Three Credits

SPA 102 SPANISH II This course is the second part of the beginning sequence offering students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical structures. The course provides an integrated approach in which listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed. The course fosters awareness of Hispanic cultures through short readings and a variety of oral and written activities. Prerequisites: SPA 101, or one or two years of high school Staff/Three Credits

SPA 201 SPANISH III Continued development of communicative competency in Spanish language and Hispanic culture including a variety of media. Prerequisite: SPA 102, or two or three years of high school Spanish, or equivalent. Media fee $15. (Fall and Spring)
Staff/Three credits

SPA 202 SPANISH IV Integration of all skills. Reading skills using contemporary selections are developed through a process approach. Cultural topics present insights into the characteristics of Hispanic people, art, and literature. Prerequisite: SPA 103 or equivalent. (Fall and Spring)
Staff/Three credits

SPA 203 SPANISH V This course helps develop oral language competency in Spanish, while increasing vocabulary and reviewing grammatical structures. The main objective is to enable students to understand lectures in the language, converse on everyday topics, read material of average difficulty, and express points of view on current issues with acceptable correctness. Prerequisite: SPA 104 or equivalent. (Fall and Spring)
Guerrero-Watanabe, Loustaunau, Staff/Three credits

SPA 204 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE: SPANISH LANGUAGEDesigned for students to become active readers of literature and develop skills. The students are introduced to the form and structure of various genres of literature through the close reading and analysis of selections from Spanish and Spanish-American prose fiction, poetry, and drama. Prerequisite: SPA 120 or equivalent. This course fulfills the Core requirement in Literature. (Fall and Spring) Staff/Three credits

SPA 220 SPANISH COMPOSITION Designed to develop skills in descriptive, narrative, and expository writing in Spanish, this course emphasizes the process of writing. It deals with strategies for generating and organizing ideas through pre-writing, composing, writing, and editing. Writing activities help expand and refine grammatical structures, range of vocabulary, and rhetorical techniques. Not open to students who have completed SPA 301. Prerequisite: SPA 140 or equivalent. (Spring)
Grijalva, Loustaunau, Staff/Three credits

SPA 225 BUSINESS SPANISH: MANAGEMENT This course enhances the student’s ability to function effectively in an increasingly important commercial language locally, throughout the United States, and abroad. The course provides the student with a solid foundation in Spanish in the vocabulary and discourse used when dealing with the legal constitution of different types of companies; management; banking and accounting; property and equipment; the modern business office and communications; and human resources. The course will also develop the student’s geographic literacy and cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world, as these are essential to being able to conduct business successfully in Spanish. The course, to be conducted primarily in Spanish, will include translating and interpreting activities, cross- cultural communication skills used frequently in the world of business and of special importance for managers and leaders who must make informed decisions. Prerequisite: SPA 104 or equivalent.
Kercher/Three credits

SPA 226 BUSINESS SPANISH: MARKETING This course enhances the student’s ability to function effectively in an increasingly important commercial language locally, in the United States, and abroad. It provides the student with a solid foundation in Spanish in the vocabulary and discourse used when dealing with goods and services, marketing, finance, foreign market entry, and import-export. The course also develops geographic literacy and cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world, as these are central to being able to conduct business successfully in Spanish. The course, to be conducted primarily in Spanish, will also include translating and interpreting activities, language skills frequently used in the world of business and of special importance for managers and leaders who must be able to communicate effectively and make well-informed decisions. Please note that SPA 125 and 126 are not sequential. Prerequisite: SPA 104 or equivalent.
Kercher/ Three credits

SPA 230 SURVEY OF SPANISH LITERATURE A survey of Spanish literature. Students will be introduced to the study of peninsular literature through the reading and analysis of representative selections from the major works. Prerequisite: SPA 140. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum. Staff/Three credits

SPA 231 SURVEY OF LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE A critical study of literary periods and movements in Latin America. Reading and analysis of representative selections from major works. Prerequisite: SPA 140. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum.
Grijalva/Three credits

SPA 302 ADVANCED SPANISH ORAL EXPRESSION A systematic study of various forms of public discourse through discussion and debate on controversial issues. Designed for students with a sophisticated command of Spanish who seek to increase their fluency and develop cultural awareness. Prerequisite: any Spanish 200-level or higher.
Guerrero-Watanabe/Three credits

SPA 316 EMERGING MODERNITIES IN THE HISPANIC WORLDThis course focuses on the social and political events, artistic production, literary texts and culture of modern Latin America. Course materials include readings, films, music and the internet in order to develop a more complete understanding of the complex modes of cultural production that arose during this time period. Prerequisite: any Spanish 200-level or higher. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum. Guerrero-Watanabe/Three credits

SPA 317 BORDER IDENTITIES IN SPAIN This course focuses on the multiplicity of identity in contemporary Spain in the context of political and social changes of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Reading theory and culture, understood as texts and practice, we will examine literature, films, and mass media to consider the identities of nation, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. Prerequisite: any Spanish 200-level or higher. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum.
Leone/Three credits

SPA 318 REBELLION AND REINVENTION IN MEXICO This course explores contemporary Mexican literary and cultural production in response to socio-political rebellion and cultural reinvention. The course materials focus on four key moments in Mexican history: the Revolution of 1910, the student movement of 1968; the Zapatista rebellion of 1994; and the current implications of mass migration and the narco wars. Students analyze textual, visual, and musical works by a variety of authors from the 20th and 21st centuries in order to learn how these authors represent cultural, social, and political affirmation in a country known for its economic and political repression. We will consider the role of literature and art in the understanding of civic action and social power. The course is taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: Any Spanish 200-level or higher. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum. Loustaunau/Three credits

SPA 370 WOMEN WRITERS IN CONTEMPORARY SPAIN This course focuses women’s contributions to literature and culture in twentieth- and twenty-first century Spain. The course takes a thematic approach to women’s experiences in Spain. Students analyze textual and visual works by a variety of women authors from the post-civil war period and Franco dictatorship (1939-1975) and from the democratic period (1980s to the present) in order to explore how these authors represent cultural, social, and political identities in 20th and 21st century Spain. Prerequisite: any Spanish 200-level or higher. This course satisfies the humanities requirement in the core curriculum. Leone/Three credits

SPA 380 LATIN AMERICAN CHRONICLES In this course students will learn about how urban life, violence, and modern cities have been represented by journalist-literary writers in Latin America. We will discuss the relationship between literature and journalism, and between chronicles and other literary genres. In addition, students will examine some works of the “New Journalism” in the United States and its influence over Latin American writers. Intensive Spanish writing will be a major requirement. Prerequisite: any Spanish 200-level or above.. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum.
Grijalva/Three credits

SPA 384 MAGICAL REALISM AND THE LITERATURE OF THE FANTASTICMagical realism refers to a specific set of narrative works by Latin American writers in the second half of the twentieth century. This course will develop a more comprehensive understanding of this literary movement by analyzing a key number of primary texts along with all the pertinent literary criticism and theory. The textual strategies and techniques that help define these works include the use of rich, detailed language designed to create a realistic setting and characters in the story. The element of magic or the supernatural then enters or manifests itself in this seemingly “real” literary landscape. Although the texts incorporate these bursts of the unexplained, the main body of the text always follows a mimetic approach to fictional production. Our study of these fantastic texts will begin with a discussion of possible pre-cursors of the movement, such as the Argentineans Jorge Borges and Julio Cortázar, and then move on to more seminal texts like Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez and Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. In the last few weeks, students will have the opportunity to analyze more recent texts to see how magical realism affects current modes of literary production. Prerequisite: any Spanish 200-level or higher. This course satisfies the Humanities requirement in the Core curriculum. Guerrero-Watanabe/Three credits Guerrero-Watanabe/Three credits

SPECIAL TOPICS AND INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSES IN SPANISH:

SPA 250 SPECIAL TOPICS COURSE (LEVEL 250–299) Staff/Three credits

SPA 300 SPECIAL TOPICS COURSE (LEVEL 3001) Staff/Three credits

SPA 410–419 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN SPANISH Staff/Three credits

Subject and/or authors studied to be chosen with approval of professor.

Internships & Outcomes

Graduate Schools and Careers

Assumption prepares students to use their linguistic, cultural and analytical skills in their careers, advanced studies and other endeavors. Students who minor in Spanish are introduced to the rich cultural traditions and literary expression of the civilization.

Our graduates pursue careers in teaching, international business, government and nonprofit organizations that require proficiency in the language. Many go on for graduate study in the language or graduate fields such as library science, literature, philology, and comparative literature.

“In the past few years, Amica Insurance has expanded its marketing activities in the Southwest and Northwest. Double majoring in English with a concentration in writing and mass communication and Spanish has given me a wonderful opportunity to provide insight from two perspectives, as a writer and as someone knowledgeable in the Spanish language and culture. As the company continues to work on this new initiative, I have the expertise to take part in the research and development.”

This summer I taught Spanish literature to middle school students in Argentina. I’ve learned how to diversify my lesson plans and grasp the attention and curiosity of students. My mentor here has over 30 years of experience and I’m learning so much from her!

In the past few years, Amica Insurance has expanded its marketing activities in the Southwest and Northwest. Double majoring in English with a concentration in writing and mass communication and Spanish has given me a wonderful opportunity to provide insight from two perspectives, as a writer and as someone knowledgeable in the Spanish language and culture. As the company continues to work on this new initiative, I have the expertise to take part in the research and development.

Margaret Colman

Spanish and Elementary Education '15

Student Teacher at Heard Street Discovery Academy

"Assumption College has provided me with opportunities to succeed and grow academically, emotionally, and spiritually both on campus and in an elementary classroom. Student teaching has given me the opportunity to put many educational theories that I have read and learned about into practice."

Kaelin Jenkins-Brown

Secondary Education and Spanish '16

Student Teacher at Doherty Memorial High School

"The education program ensured that I was very prepared going into my practicum, and the faculty have been there for me every step of the way during the experience. Through this internship I have discovered the virtue of patience and that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it."

Linda Truong

Marketing, Spanish ‘16

Marketing and Events Intern at Worcester Business Journal

“The most gratifying part of this internship is to witness weeks of preparation unfold and watch the execution of an event from start to finish. My most memorable event was the 40 under Forty Awards – I wrote 40 introductory speeches to introduce honorees as they walked down a red carpet.”